subject: Without Bassoon Reeds We Wouldnt Have That Quintessential, Plaintive And Supremely Lyrical Voice [print this page] Bassoon reeds are an essential element of the bassoon, a quintessential, plaintive yet supremely lyrical instrument and one which has a special place in the history of modern music. Not that one will see the instrument appearing in jazz, heavy metal or head banging death metal; rather it is in orchestral, chamber and large concert music genres one will find bassoons being played where it figures prominently. It is a member of the double reed family of woodwind instrument and is typically used to and appears when one has music written in the bass and tenor registers.
As manufacturing processes became more elaborate and knowledge of acoustics became more widespread, the bassoon of which we are now familiar with first appeared in the middle of the nineteenth century, and modern historians in the main agree that it is the descendent of an instrument known as the dulcian.
However, unlike the general agreement of family history it is not known for sure when or where the dulcian originated, how it evolved or indeed in which type of music genre it was typical of. Largely far more primitive than its modern cousin it was less acoustically endowed and would have been supremely wanting in a large concert theater or venue of the time. Although the modern bassoon is a creation of the need for further refinement and improvement in general of musical instruments it is older than the nineteenth century.
Indeed, there was a transitional period in the eighteenth century where it is evidenced that the dulcian was, over the course of about half a century supplanted by its more modern and better acoustically endowed cousin. As is usual necessity is the mother of invention and demands on capabilities of instruments and players in the 19th century spurred on the need for increased and further refinement. Increased sophistication, both in manufacturing techniques and acoustical knowledge, made possible great improvements in the instrument's playability and over the course of a century or so firmly established the instrument as an essential element of what is regarded as classical genres.
The instrument has been used in modern music genres such as jazz and popular music; however its appearance has been a rarity and in many cases was used on experimental albums and one off tracks of bands such as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and Donovan as well as Harpers Bizarre.
Bassoons, bassoon reeds, oboes, clarinets, saxophones and many more instruments and accessories are to be found at MM Imports, a one stop shop for musicians of all genres and standards. Take a look inside today, the address of the website for all contact details and of course a secure platform for online purchase of any instrument or accessory is http://www.mmimports.com/xcart/bassoon.
